Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Lowered to Neutral Rating by Citigroup

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) was downgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $104.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $118.00. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.06% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America lowered shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $114.00 to $119.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.92.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE EMN opened at $95.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.76. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $80.71 and a 1 year high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Eastman Chemical’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $321,405.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,298,430. The trade was a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. 1.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMN. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 30.9% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Company Profile

Eastman Chemical Company operates as a specialty materials company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company's Additives & Functional Products segment offers amine derivative-based building blocks, intermediates for surfactants, metam-based soil fumigants, and organic acid-based solutions; specialty coalescent and solvents, paint additives, and specialty polymers; and heat transfer and aviation fluids.